Last few books I’ve read I have thoroughly enjoyed, and I’m not a huge reader and very slow when I do read, but here you go:

Looking for Alaska by John Green. Picked up some books by this author because he’s been in the news for his books being banned from certain schools and classrooms. Might actually agree that this book shouldn’t be on the shelf for younger readers, but it’s very real and gritty and definitely something I would have loved to read in high school or college, but still enjoyed it as an adult. I read Perks of Being a Wallflower in high school and haven’t re-read it since, but it had a similar vibe to me.

Speaking of John Green, I saw an interview that his brother Hank Green did with Mary Robinette Kowal about her book The Spare Man. It’s a murder mystery set in space on a cruise ship going from Earth/Earth’s Moon to Mars. Think Hercule Poirot / Miss Marple, but in space, and with updated/modern sensibilities.

Currently reading the Tripod series by John Christopher. (Note that When the Tripods Came is a prequel, read that last.) Feels a little weird as a modern reader who’s seen Star Wars / Star Trek and consumed modern sci-fi media. Maybe not weird, but certainly feels not fully fleshed out in the first book. I’m on book 2 now and it’s taking a more sci-fi and even more dystopian tone. Books aren’t super long, designed for younger readers to enjoy, so the plot moves quick enough without getting bogged down in too many unnecessary details. I hate books like Great Expectations by Dickens because it could have been a better story if it weren’t being stretched out for periodical release. I felt like Dickens spent way too much time in his books describing things I care nothing about instead of progressing the story and explaining as necessary. The Tripod books are the opposite of that: just enough description to get you going, and a few reminders of the scenery as required, but otherwise you just fill in the blanks with your own imagination, which I think is wonderful.